Slack-adjuster.



F I l I I I.

I. E. ANGER.

SLACK ADJUSTER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB- 25, I913.

Patented Aug. 24, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1. H6. 1 A

UH .PO

PLANOGRAPH CO.,\VI\SHINUTDN n c J. E. ANGER.

SLACK'ADJUSTER.

APPLICA'HON FILED FEB-25,1913.

Patented Aug. 24, 1915 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WEEEE COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH c0.. WASHINGTON, n. c.

, v entrain s'rairns r arnnr OFFICE.

OHN DWARD ANGER, or rnns'ronfnivenann' SLACK-ADJUSTER.

To all whom it may concern 1 Be it known that I, JoI-INFDwAnnANenn,

a citizen of. the United States of America, residing at Preston, in thejcounty of Lancaster, in the Kingdom of England, have'invented certain new and useful Improve/- ments in Slack-Adjusters, of which the following is 'a specification, 3 l

This invention relates to apparatus ,for

automatically taking up the slack in the brakes of tram-cars and the like, such apparatus being of the type in which there is a nut on the screw at the end or: ends of they brake rods, and a' ratchet device so -,ar-

ranged and connected with the brake lever, that whenever the latter, owlng to wear of the brake blocks, is oscillatedbeyond a given distance, said ratchet device shall move forward a tooth, and automatically adjust or screw up the brake blocks."

Now the present lnvention has for its object certain improvements'on this type of apparatus, more especially in the apparatus in respect of which the present applicant obtained Letters Patent No. 67 1,7 87 April 9, 1901.

These present improvements consist, first,

in inclosing theratchet gear in waterydust and mud proof casings so asto insure their free action underall conditions 'ofweather, and in coupling the casings (which carry the pawls) together as one integer by a conneoting rod so as to insure the slack being equally taken up, at both sides of the vehicle. This is a great advantage, because if a chain be used as in the said prior patent, the slack is not always taken up equally at each side of the vehicle'ow ing to the slack in the chain; second bythe nut (which is screwed onto the end of the brake rod, and on which the ratchet wheelwithin the easing is mounted so as to work solidly with the nut as regards rotary motion) being provided with a peripheral Shoulder against which the said ratchet wheel abuts; third,

the casing, being provided with a short squared extension, which projects through the axial center of the said casing just far enough tobe turned backby hand from the outside; fourth, by the said icratchet casing being built up ofa side plate with a lateral flange projecting therefrom, and a cover plate bolted to the oppositeside plate so 'Specification'of Letters ratent, 'Patented A110", 1915, Application fiie'd'rebr'uar 25, 1913.. Serial No. 750,584. r

i that it can be opened to insert or remove the ratchet wheel; fifth, by locating the embaymentj for the reception of the pawl in the said dust proof ratchet casing, in such a position as to clear the lugs to which the I single truck car:;Fig. 2, a plan view; Fig.

3 is a face view of the ratchet casing which revolves freely on the brake rod nut, and

which carries a pawl and has the operating rods coupled to it; Fig. 4, a plan view; and F g. 5, a cross section thereof. Fig; 6 1s a side elevation of the brake mechanism of a four wheel bogie truck; Fig. 7 is a similar view showing a sl1ght modification.

The ordinary brake lever A for putt ng on the brake, isfulcrume'd by means of'a pivot'pin B to the brakebeam C to which A the two ordinary brake rods Dare attached,

these rods running to the other end of the car for the purpose of operating the brake blocks at that end. The said brake lever is also pivoted at B to the other brake beam C that operates the brake blocks M at the near end. This lever has a crank arm a, coupled by a connecting rod E to a ratchet wheel casin'gF hereinafter described. The

brake shoesare held normally clear of the wheels by springs Gr, such springs for example acting on the brake beaniC, and also ,forcing the brake lever A back to its former position, when the temporary application of the brake to the wheels, is tobe discontinued.

- Upon the screwed end ofeach-brake rod -D is a nut H provided at about midlength with an external peripheral collar. At one side of this collar: the nut has a squared exterior, while at the other (or inner) side of this collar, afpawl driven ratchet wheel I is mounted on each nut so as to rest against the collar, the said ratchet wheel being keyed onto the nut so asto work solidly with it as regards rotary motion around the axis of the brake rod. Both the nut and ratchet wheel are separate and distinct pieces, the one having key members it entering freely grooves in the other, so that the ratchet wheelcan he slid off the nut easily and be replaced. J ournaled freely on this nut H at two places, namely at the inner end and on the collar, is a ratchet casing 'F, this being hollow inside so as to contain the ratchet wheel therewithin, the outside (or squared exterior) end of the nut H and the screwed end of the rod D projecting through the ca s- There are a pair of these ratchet casings F, one journaled on the I ing to the outside.

stantially circular, except at one part where 1 it isprovided with an embayment f in which is mounted a pawl K fixed on a spindle journaled in the casing. This pawl or click is held in engagement with the ratchet teeth I by means of a'spring K, while outside the casing is a thumb lever K to disengage the pawl fromthe ratchet teethwhen required. Whenever the brake is applied the lower operating rod E rotates the bot-' tom of the casing to the right. When the brake is released, the said rod moves it to the left. The upper rod J acts simply as a tie between the two casings, so that both operate together. i

The ratchet casing F is built up of a side plate provided with a lateral annular flange or collar Fft'o surround the ratchet wheel,

. and a coverjplate. The side plate member is mountedon the nut H at its inner end at one side of'the ratchet'wheel, and the cover plate is mounted on the peripheral i collar of the nut H at the other side of the ratchet wheel, while at one end, the collar has a peripheral feather H" which interp'ose's itself between the ratchet wheel and the coverplate so as to form ashoulder for the cover plate to abut against and keep the said cover plate spaced away from the ratchet wheel. By means of lugs on the exterior of the casing, and bolts, thecover plate is bolted to the side plate so as to insure an effective joint or contact against the "flange or collar; An even more important function of thefeather H is' to prevent the nut being accidentally or mischievously" unscrewed out of thecasing from ofl the rod 1); The ratchet wheel being keyed,

freely on the nut there would in the absence *of the feather be nothing to prevent the nut being unscrewed. outof the casing from, off the rod D. The peripheral feather H, ahf theratchet wheel EI and nut 3H. Upon .ileasing the f brake lever A, the springs in forcing the lever hack toits former position,

solutely prevents this. This flange orcollar F which surroundstheratchet'wheel I, contains the embayment for the pawlbK,

andthus when these two parts are (:16.

. through to the outside, but in such manne :pawl'can'be disengaged from the ratchet enough" to enable the nut to be turned 1 wheels, that at first each ratchet ca' ratchet tooth, and-the ratchet casings" "any effect. Should however the brake-levee F [which carry the pawls K, will cause I 'pa'wls to travel more thanthe length of one wins in one direction, but insuring that thetogether, thecollar on one part abuts agai the other part, and then by "passingbo through the lugs F the two parts are cured'together with the ratchet wheel andtheconnectingrod ends cou led onb'vii thejbolts betweenfthe lugs F. hus. chamber inside the casing is absolutely 0 and waterproof, and nothing can get in interfere with the free action of the rat' wheel and pawl. The embaymen't for reception of the pawl is loo'ateda't ones! of the exterior lug instead of verti'ca above the ratchet wheel, and the pawl held in engagement with, the ratchet WM bva spring. 7 r I i The spindle of the-pawl is 'journaled hole in the coverplate; and projects th as toleavenofopening through which n and dirt can penetrate into the ratchet ing.-"At the end of this spindle a thumEe lever K? is provided, by turning which teeth.- '"The square part-ofthe nut jects through the ratchetcas'ing'just ii hand i from the outside, when the pa" which can also be operated from the outside is lifted. 1 This facilitates new brake blocks? being placed inposition when-it is required toreplace the worn ones, r I

The mode of 'actionis *as' followszln order to apply the brake, the brakelever is pulled outward, and this causes the con necting rod E to turn the ratchet casing to which it is coupled, and through the coupling rod 'J, the 'otherratchet casing and the pawls K vwith them. At the out with; new'brake blocks or shoes, the brahil lever A'will only-have totravel a small tance to apply the brakeblocks M will oscillate less than the length of oscillate back Without operating-the ratch wheels, when'the brake lever isreleased, c'aus'egthenormal, movement imparted to th pawl by thebrakelever is less than the d' t ance between'two teeth, of the ratchet, that ordinarily the pawl --moves back an forth on the f'surface of one tooth with from wear ,of the block s, travel farther the a given distanee, the motlon of the casln tooth of the; ratchet wheels. I so that en pawl willfall into the next inter-dental sp of its ratchet wheel rising as .the casin backward; n'iotio'l'l of. the tca'sing willf turit will likewise cause the connecting rods E J to oscillate the casings Fback, and with them the pawls, Which will turn the ratchet wheels I one tooth, and thus the nuts H will tighten up the brake rods D to the amount of wear of the brake blocks M that has taken place. This therefore takes up the slack and adjusts the brake blocks at both ends of the vehicle, and whenever the slack increases so as to enable the brake lever to move the casing, a greater angular distance than one tooth of the ratchet wheel, the slack is automatically taken up, and safety and effective braking results are insured. By this means the brake is kept in proper adjustment, so that the nuts" can never loosen, and are always moved in one directlon.

The brake adjuster does not comeinto action with every movement of the brake lever, and it does not matter how many times the motorman applies his brake, the adjuster only comes into action when the brake lever on the truck has been allowed to travel past a certain point, which is caused by any wear in the shoe, and then immediately upon the brake being released, the ratchetcasings-on each brake rod op erate together and automatically cause their pawls to engage the next tooth, thus winding up the ratchet wheels in one direction.

Hence the shoes are kept the proper and required distance from the wheels until the shoes are worn out.

To enable new brake blocks M to be applied, the thumb levers K are turned so as to disengage the pawls from the ratchet wheels. The nuts H can then be turned back by hand, to bring the blocks back far enough to enable them to be removed, and to be replaced by new ones. WVhen the pawl is lifted awayfrom the teeth of the ratchet,

the device is inoperative, and the arrangement becomes exactly similar in operation to the ordinary brake rigging.

The ratchet wheel I is so mounted on the nut H. that it can be removed therefrom when required, and the shoulder on the nut enables the ratchet wheel to lockagainst it. Both the nut and ratchet wheel are separate and distinct pieces, and the nut can therefore be replaced easily,withouthaving applied as to replace the usual turn-buckle or adjusting nut on the'connecting or push rods that connect the short arms of the brake levers together. This is shown in Fig. 6, which is a side elevation of the ,of the-rod P.

brake mechanismlof a' four wheel bogiel beams is attached the, rod P, and to the other beam is attached the rod P. A is-the brake lever trunnioned on pin B, and A the other lever which is coupled to the end The short arms of, these levers are connected by the connecting or push rod Q. The rod P is threaded to receive the nut Hof the adjuster F, the said nut being extended somewhat soas to pass between the forked end of the brake'lever A, and is provided with a collar 'h at its, ex-

treme end. Journaled freely on this nut, is the collar R which carries the trunnion pinB. To the brake lever A, the'arm S is secured, which is coupled by the connecting rod T to the adjuster F, the arm, S having several holes in it, to enable the stroke of the adjuster to be varied When therefore the brake. lever is pulled outward, the trunnion collar R abutting against the adjuster F, forces its brake block M against its wheel, while the other brake block is-forced against its wheel by the connecting rod Q, the upper end of the brake lever A" remaining stationary. At the outset with new brake" blocks, the brake lever A- will only have' to travel a small distance to apply theblocksM to the wheels,

- wheel,-thus insuring that the man will tightenup the rod P by the backward mo- ;tion of the adjuster, when the leverA is released to the amount of wearthat has taken place. "This therefore takes up the slack and adjusts the brake blocks of both wheels. Clearly the adjuster F could be applied equally well directly tothe rod Q. This is shown in.Fig. 7 inwhich the 'rod Qis threaded to receive the nut of the adjuster instead of the rod P, and the short arm of the brake lever A beyond where. it is piv- "cted to the rod P, is trunnioned-onthisj nu I declare that what I claim is 1. In apparatus of the type referred toy for automatically taking up the slack in brake apparatus, the combination with brake rods, of nuts on both brake rods, of ratchet wheels and pawls in connection with the nuts, water, dust and mud proof casings journaled on the nuts Within which. the.

ratchet wheels and pawls are inclosed, eX- terior lugs on the casings and a connecting rod for coupling said lugs together, so as to insure the slack being taken up equally at each side of the vehicle. V

2. Ina slack adjuster, the combination with brake rods, ofnuts screwed thereon, a peripheral collar at about mid-length of each nut, a:squared exterior on each nut at one side of this collar, a pawl driven ratchet wheelmounted on each nut (so as to work solidly with it) at the other side of this collar, a ratchet casing journaled freely on this collar and on the inner end of the nut, c

' so as to leave the squared exterior beyond the collar and the screwed end of the brake .rod projecting through the ratchet casing to the outside to enable the nut to be turned by hand from the outside when the pawl is v lifted, exterior lugs on the casings,- and a connecting, rod for coupling the said lugs together. so as to insure theslack being taken up equally at each side of the vehicle.

3. In a. slack adjuster, the combination with brake rods, of nuts screwed thereon, a

ripheral feather at the inner edge of the collar, to form a shoulder against which the part 1 of the ratchet casing that is mounted on the collar abuts to prevent the nut being unscrewed out of the casing.

4. Ina brake adjuster, the combination with brake rods, of nuts screwed thereon, a

peripheral collar at about midlength of each nut, a squared exterior on each nut at one side of the said collar, a pawl d riven ratchet wheel keyed to the said nut at the other side of the said collar, a ratchet casing built up of a side plate provided with a lateral annular flangeto surround the ratchet wheel,

and a cover plate, which plates are j ournaled on the nut, lugs on the'outside ofv the side plate, and cover. plate, boltsfor bolting the lugs together so as to insure an eflective- Copies of this patent may be obtainul for five cents eacln by addressing the Commissioner 0! Mb, Washington, D. C.

- connecting said lugs together..

.solidly with it at the-other side of this pressing the paiwl into contact with thp to the outside where it is provided wlth as to leave no opening through which dust joint between the cover plate and the flangfif, on the side .plate and a connecting rod for 5. In. a brake adjuster, the comb' H with brake rods, of nuts screwed thereon, peripheral collar at about midlength of each nut, a squared exterior on each nut at on side of the collar, a pawl'driven ratchefi wheel mounted on each nut so as to lar, a ratchet casing built up of asideplak provided with a lateral annular flange;

surround the ratchet wheel, and ,a cow; plate, which plates are 'ournaled on the n lugscon the outside ed the side plate cover plate, a connecting rod for coupling the said lugs together, an embayment for the reception of a pawl on the inside of the lateral annular flange, said embay'mentbe ing located at one side of the exterior lug; so asto clear the same, and a spring K 1'0).

ratchet wheeL- g I 6. In a brake adjuster, the combinatioa with brake rods, of nuts screwed thereon, peripheral collar at about midlength of r nut, a squared exterior on each nut at onpg side of this collar, a pawl driven r wheel mountedon each nut so as to wor solidly with it at the other side ofthiscolif lar, a ratchet casing built up of a side plate provided with a lateral annular flange m surround the ratchet wheel and cover-plate, which plates are journaled on the nutflm on the outside of the side plate and can: plate, a connecting rod for con lin the said lugs together, an embaymentv or-t e reception of a pawl on the inside of the annular flange, a spindle by which the pawl is journaled in the cover plate, the said spindle p'rojecting through the cover plate handle for turning the paw in such manner and dirt can penetrateinto the, casing; j v, In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name this 15 day of February 1913, in the presencelof two subscribingwitnesses. V v i JOHN EDWARD ANGER.

.Witn'e'sses:

. GEORGE HERMAN ANGER, THOMAS S; SHILLINGTON. 

